Tattooed Tram Man
© John Sawyer –
October 2007 / February 2008
“Don’t worry mate, the tram still goes to Swanston Street. We’re just going a different way because of
an accident.”
Our fellow traveller was a bit confused and when the tram
went straight ahead at St. V’s he got into a bit of a panic and tried to get
off.
“Thanks brother, where do I get off then?”
“Just stick here and get off the stop after us.”
The tram was running late so it was already crowded when our
young friend first got on in Victoria
Street. He was a bit disoriented and I’d helped
steady him when he’d fallen into a group of call centre workers as the tram
lurched away.
He had spiked Tintin type black
hair with alabaster white streaks. He was showing a fair bit of dark skin under
his blue workman’s singlet. His arms and
back were covered in tattoos. His eyes were a bit foggy and he also smelt a
fair bit.
“You’re a pretty decent bloke brother. Thanks for your
help.”
“No worries mate” Pause while I try to pigeon hole him. “Where’d you come from mate?”
“I was born in Thailand. My mother is Cambodian
and my father is Vietnamese.”
“What, so you were born in a refugee camp?”
“Yes brother, I spent 7 years in Thailand
before we came to Australia.
I’m 23 now.”
Most of his tatts appeared to be Polynesian swirls but the
tattoo across his shoulders blazed ‘Get Rich Soon or Die Trying’.
“You’ve obviously spent a bit of time getting the tatts. Where’d
you get them done?”
“Well, most were at Tattoo City
in Dandenong and some at Taboo Tattoo in Whitehorse Road. These two are amateur
jobs.”
He pointed behind his ear at the old fashion dollar sign
with two vertical bars. He turned his left eye towards me and pointed at the
three black tears on his cheek.
“Is this your wife brother? I suppose you’ve got children.”
“Yeah we’ve got two children and two grand children”.
“I suppose you love them a lot? I’ve got a young nephew – I
love him. I hope he turns out OK.”
“We all put our hope in the young.”
Some months later, I searched the WWW for the meanings of
various tattoos. The teardrops gave me some reason for reflection. Teardrops
are usually applied in jail. Depending on the country of origin they can mean:
- Murder
- Murder
of a fellow prisoner
- Death
of a relative while the wearer is in jail
- And
in Australia,
it is applied forcibly and means the wearer is a child molester
The WWW is notoriously inaccurate.